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Richmond man indicted for murder

By LeaAnne Klentzman

The Richmond man who was driving the truck that hit and killed a Marine war veteran in August has been indicted for murder.

On November 11, 2010 the Fort Bend grand jury indicted 33- year-old Sean Michael McGuire for murder in the death of 23- year-old Marine David Stidman. Shortly after midnight on August 2, McGuire was driving a pickup south on FM 762 near the Brazos Town Center development when he reportedly hit the rear of Stidman’s Harley Davidson motorcycle; killing him.

McGuire was arrested and charged with Failure to Stop and Render Aid (FSRA) and intoxicated manslaughter. He was released on $17,000 bond; $5,000 for FSRA and $12,000 for intoxicated manslaughter. However, after taking the case before the grand jury, McGuire has been indicted for murder and intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle, which generally carries a bond of $50,000.

According to court documents, McGuire’s attorney, Mike Elliott has filed an objection to an increase in bond for the now upgraded charges. Elliott said, “It is the defense’s position that the alleged murder indictment does not legally allege an offense.”

Elliott went on to say that never before has Fort Bend County ever tried a DWI case as a murder case. It has always been intoxicated manslaughter. He said a murder conviction would mean straight prison time for his client. He questions why, why now, and why this case?

In reviewing Sean McGuire’s records on file at the courthouse, there may be some insight as to why. According to those records, Sean McGuire’s first official scrape with the adult legal system in Fort Bend County started in April, 1998. Case number 98-CCR-077766 indicates that McGuire was arrested for possession of marijuana; a Class B misdemeanor. At the age of 22 and representing himself, McGuire entered a plea of no contest and was sentenced to 3 days in the county jail.

Another set of records on file in Fort Bend County indicate that McGuire lost his driver’s license in Iowa in 2003 after a DWI in January and a habitual violator certification in November of that same year. According to those records, he was instructed to return his Iowa license plates, driver’s license, and vehicle registrations to the State of Iowa.

Fast forward to 2006, and McGuire’s records then flip over to the civil side of the courts in Fort Bend County. In June of that year with cause number 29913, a pleading for an occupational driver’s license was filed in County Court at Law 1.

Although no conviction was listed, the paperwork processed by Judge H. Kennedy appears to mimic the documents of a DWI case, with some lines drawn through some of the text.

In 2006 McGuire was granted a occupational driver’s license to work for a relative as a framer and site foreman in construction. Then in 2008, more filings indicate that McGuire applied for yet another occupational driver’s license. That case, 08-CCV-087950 still shows pending.

When asked about McGuire’s prior cases, Elliott said he knew nothing about them but that his client currently had a valid Texas driver’s license.